One Fish, Two Fish, Bluefin Tuna Fish

How much would you pay for fish? Perhaps it’s an odd question to ask, but there’s a reason why we’re asking—promise! While you ponder that, here’s the reason why we’re asking …

Japan is known for a lot of things … temples, cherry blossoms, ninjas!, anime, and of course sushi. Sushi is such a significant part of the Japanese economy and culture that fish markets are as much a tourist attraction as Tokyo’s Ginza district! Fish aficionados know that some of the freshest and most valuable fish come from the massive fish markets in Japan. Fish buyers usually head to the markets in the wee morning hours to bid for fish that is auctioned off to the highest bidder. Some fish sell for hundreds of dollars per pound! The bluefin tuna is one of the most expensive fishes in the world and some sushi restaurant owners are willing to pay a lot to serve this fish to their customers. At the first fish auction of the year, Kiyoshi Kimura, the owner of a chain of sushi restaurants called Sushi Zanmai (often ranked as one of the best sushi restaurants in the world), won the auction for a 613-pound bluefin tuna. How much did he bid to win this massive fish? 336 million yen, or approximately $3.1 million. Yeah, we’d say he wanted that tuna pretty badly, wouldn’t you?

Author is User:Fisherman. [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC BY-SA 2.5 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], from Wikimedia CommonsInteresting Fact: Whose record did Mr. Kimura beat? His own! In 2013, Mr. Kimura became the proud owner of a bluefin tuna that weighed over 489 pounds after he won the auction with a bid of 155.4 million yen or approximately $1.8 million.

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